KNOW THE SIGNS:  Driving in France                                                          
  

We have been driving in France for about 25 years, bravely getting behind the wheel of a rental car that very first time, taking out our unwieldy road maps, and forging ahead - knowing little of French road signs, ronds points or such things as the rules governing the right of way.  We soon appreciated the aforementioned ronds points (known as roundabouts in the UK and traffic circles in the US and wished we had many more of them back home).

Renting a car in France is very easy thanks to the Internet.  Where we once had to call a rental agency and discuss every detail of our rental on the phone, we can now go to a wider variety of car rental web sites, compare models and prices, find the perfect pick-up and drop-off locations, book the rental and pay online with a credit card in our own currency.  A receipt with all the details is emailed to us which we take with us when we pick up the car.  Simple and easy.

Driving in France is something we've also found quite easy, despite the occasional missed turn and finding ourselves becoming expert at making U-turns.  We are fortunate to drive on the right side of the road in the US as they do in Europe, but visitors from Ireland, the UK, Australia, Japan, several southern African nations, former English colonies, etc., will find it challenging at first.  But they really shouldn't become discouraged.  Most people adapt to the change quickly.

A bit of history:   Left-hand drive has its roots in feudal times when swordsmen on horseback needed to be close to their enemies on the left and able to use their right arms to wield their swords.  Later, in 18th century France, those hauling goods in wagons drawn by teams of horses sat behind the left horse so they had their right arm free to lash the team - and so they could watch the wagon wheels when others passed them by.  Thus, they drove to the right side of the road, beginning a tradition that remains in 65% of the world to this day.  Driving on the right came about gradually in much of Europe. The Empress Elizabeth of Russia's edict in 1752 made it mandatory that all traffic should keep to the right; later in France, following the Revolution, traveling on the right was formally adopted (previously the nobility rode on the left and the peasants were off to the right) when the aristocrats attempted to blend into the crowds by moving to the right. Finally, in 1794, driving on the right became compulsory. Napoléon spread the right-hand driving system to many countries in Europe including Spain, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, but still many countries did not comply, including Portugal.  Only after World War I mainland Europe moved to the right, leaving only the British isles, Sweden and some eastern European countries driving on the left.  In fact, some changed as late as World War II, with Sweden being the last mainland holdout when in 1955 it was decreed that they were to drive on the right.

As you adjust to driving in France, whether you are used to right-hand drive or not, it is important to familiarize yourself with the highway signs.  Many are self-explanatory and some may be the same or similar to those you will see at home.  However, there are those that could be puzzling, so we will explain their meanings in this issue of our newsletter.  Also, for those who are used to speed limits and distances in miles per hour, an easy rule of thumb for converting kilometers to miles is to know that two-thirds of a kilometer is a mile:  90 kilometers is approximately 60 miles.

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